The individuals have the right to socialise, which implies that they can claim material and more aspirational aspects of the right to the city, which are incessantly redesigned through interaction with competing claims of other inhabitants. The poor have to interact with the capitalist either as employees or informal traders competing for urban space. The struggle for the urban space by the capitalist and informal traders indicates a struggle for the promotion of socio-economic right of different groups within the city. Different individuals with diverse ventures struggle with one another over the character of the city, the conditions of access to the public area and even the rights of citizenship. The derivative of the struggle over the urban space should be one city with novel approach to appropriate, inhabit and participation to city life and economic opportunities it offers. The right to the city entails the realisation that the form and design of the city is a constant effort to ensure that different groups are accommodated within the city and as such the city becomes are ‘melting pot’ where ‘deference lives’ in harmony.

The difference is tolerated and accommodated at the level of everyday interaction, without essentially being assimilated or even approved, that urban space becomes interesting and fulfilling as it maintains a difference and that they cultivate a sense of public togetherness without necessarily identifying with one another on a personal level. Consequently, city citizens are enriched by the deference they experienced through interaction. Given the limited knowledge available on city residents about different groups (based on race, tribal denomination or country citizenship) influenced by ideologies, legislative measures and policies of the apartheid regime, the right to the city appear to be a unifying concept that can contribute to social cohesion and tolerance. The focus was not on the views of the residents (on how to shape their city) but rather how to keep racial groups apart from each other in terms of access to various social and economic opportunities. The right to the city, thus, promote peaceful coexistence, collective development and solidarity. All these elements underscore the importance of social cohesion fundamental in the right to the city. South African cities are beset with partial and in some instances complete segregations based on race due to the apartheid segregatory polices.